It’s a derby, not a dance party

There was a sellout crowd at Waseca County Fair Grandstand Friday, July 15 as cars, trucks, and minivans went to battle at the demolition derby. This event only required a small section of the track, which the fairgrounds crew muddied up for the night’s action.

The derby had an array of prizes, including trophies for the top three spots, an award for “hardest hitter,” and a $50 cash bonus for whoever crushed a watermelon set at the center of the track at the beginning of each round.

The demolition derby included seven heats: stock cars, stock trucks, compacts, minivans, 80s chain, limited welds, and standard welded cars. The variety provided plenty of entertainment throughout the evening.

Stock Cars: Three drivers participated: Sage Stanke won the heat and took the hardest hitter award. Blake Craig took second. Dominic Stoecker took third place and captured the $50 bonus for crushing the watermelon.

Stock Trucks: Three drivers battled in this category. Logan Ayers took a clean sweep of the prizes, winning first place, the hardest hitter award, and the $50 bonus. Erich Velske took second while Sam Jewett placed third.

Compacts: Eight contestants registered for the compact class. Jacob Johnson took first prize, with Gavin Sonnson taking second and the hardest hitter award. John Stanke took third with Logan Johnson taking the $50 for crushing the watermelon.

Minivans: Eight drivers took part in this heat. It was a close battle between Kyle “the Krusher” Bathke and Brandon Paul for first place. For a couple of minutes, the two went around in circles trying to get a hit on each other. The announcer shouted at one point, “This is a demolition derby, not a dance party!”

Kyle “the Krusher” Bathke claimed first prize, with Brandon Paul taking second and the hardest hitter prize. Jason Pestorious took third prize. Tristan Langford took the prize for crushing the watermelon.

80s Chain: This heat featured 14 vehicles, the most in the ring at one time throughout the derby. Taking first was Tom Stern, with Brandon “the Sledge” Hammer taking second and the hardest hitter award. Kyle “the Krusher” Bathke took third place. Adam Thelen got the $50 watermelon prize. 

Limited Weld: Seven trucks participated in this category. When the mud settled, Matt Schwartz had taken first place. Matt Rossow took third place and the hardest hitter award, with Mitch Tix taking second place and the watermelon bonus.

Standard Weld: 11 drivers battled in the final heat of the night. It was the longest and most entertaining face-off of the entire derby, going for over 20 minutes with two watermelons at the center of the track instead of one. This heat also featured Kyle “the Krusher” Bathke for the third time in the derby. 

It came down to Bathke and Kollin Lange. At the last minute, Bathke had issues backing away from the track wall, leaving Lange the perfect opportunity to smash into and pin him, giving Lange the victory and leaving Bathke to settle for second. Jason Pagel took third, with Nick Richardson receiving the watermelon bonus and Doug Lund named as the round’s hardest hitter.